411’s Comic Reviews: Man-Thing #1, Ultimates 2 #4, More

Hello and welcome to 411mania’s weekly Comic Book Review Roundtable! Each week we’ll be serving up a warm dish of reviews from Marvel, DC, and anything else that captures our interest. What did you pick up this week? Let us know in the comments.

Want to write a review? If you can write at least one review a week, consistently, email me at stevethegoose@gmail.com!

In a long line of mini-series released by Marvel its Man-Things turn with Goosebumps writer R.L. Stine at the helm. After reading this issue I think perhaps he should have stayed in his arena and avoided comics.

In my opinion Stine makes several mistakes. One, he attempts to put his own spin on an established character and in this case I don’t think it works. If the Man-Thing could actually speak why wouldn’t he reconnect with the Avengers or someone else where he would be accepted? In a place where looks are everything, it seems like a colossal mistake for MT to go to Hollywood for approval.

Two, basing most of the issue on MT’s origin. I don’t think the issue benefits from rehashing old material. He has been around for many years; anyone reading this comic knows his origin.

Lastly, the backup story eating up precious real estate was a poor decision. I realize and appreciate the homage to EC Comics but I think the main story needed to the room to breathe.

The art compliments both stories well. German Peralta’s art and Rachelle Rosenberg’s colors really play up the dark Man-Thing/sunny LA contrasts. Daniel Johnson and Mat Lopes, the second stories team, play up the horror element without overdoing it.

Stine took some serious risks here and in doing so he created a polarizing story; you will either love it or you won’t. If you are looking for a story with a retro feel this one is for you. Otherwise steer clear.

Rating: 2.0 out of 10

Ultimates 2 #4

Review by Sankalp G.

Ultimates 2 #4 brings action for the first time to our Ultimates as our Earthly heroes battle the Troubleshooters and on the cosmic side, Logos destroys the Celestials! This issue may finally kick-start our journey to the cosmic trouble which is brewing in this all new-all different Marvel universe.

The Troubleshooters are a funny bunch of heroes. One of them is almost a Jedi, one of them can use his mood to form energy creations, and one possesses power similar to Extremis. that is to hijack into machines by making contact with them. The most interesting of the bunch is Rodstov, who is a completely different being. The battles here are well choreographed but makes a few of the heroes seem like de-powered versions of themselves.

The most interesting part of this comic is Logos. The new cosmic deity is made of an amalgamation of Chaos and Order and wants to establish a new balance in the universe. He wants to do it by destroying the Celestials but is stopped and warned by ‘Never Queen’- who personifies probability. Interestingly, she saves one of the Celestials as Logos thinks he has destroyed all of them. Logos then heads back to his earlier business, where he is hell bent on transforming Galactus back to his Devourer of Worlds form and he succeeds. I love how Ewing mentions the old Beyonder storyline here.

The art really shines in this issue because of the battles involved. I am really looking forward to what El Ewing will do next, as Galactus, whose issue started this series, is now back to his old form.

This issue needed to deliver because the last two issues were spent building towards this. It did and has redirected the series to the next part. A little bit slow perhaps, but this issue did its job.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Steve here! That’s all the time we have. Tell us what you’re reading below and see you back here next week! You can now find our reviews on ComicBookRoundUp.com!